Vietnam’s economy slowed in the first half of 2016, official figures showed on Wednesday, with a severe regional drought and a spate of fish deaths adding to losses caused by turmoil in global markets, AFP reported. GDP growth dropped to 5.52% in the first six months compared to 6.32% in the same period last year. The country grew at its fastest pace for five years in 2015 thanks to strong exports and a flurry of foreign investment. “Less active global trade and investment . . . and unpredictable upheavals in the world financial and monetary markets have badly influenced our economy,” the statistics office said in a statement on Wednesday. Domestic production was also hammered by the region’s worst drought in decades, which slammed Vietnamese rice and coffee farmers and cost the country $681 million. The economy suffered another blow from a huge loss of fish along the country’s central coast that has yet to be fully explained.
